Government lost high moral ground after defending Jay Shah: Yashwant

Dissident BJP leader Yashwant Sinha slammed the government for defending party chief Amit Shah's son Jay Shah over allegations hurled against him and said it had thus lost its high moral ground.

"I don't want to comment on the merit of the case as it is a matter of investigation but I would like to say the manner in which a central minister jumped into the fray... He is a central minister, not a chartered accountant of Jay Shah," Sinha told NDTV.

Sinha also criticized the government for allowing Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take on the case of Jay Shah.

"These were avoidable and should not have happened. The very special circumstances in which the Additional Solicitor General has been cleared to defend the concerned person also raises some issues and that was also to my mind avoidable.

"Looking at all these therefore perhaps the high moral ground that we had occupied all these months and years somehow appears to have been lost," said the former Finance Minister.

Jay Shah's company has reportedly recorded a turnover of Rs 80 crore in 2015 after showing just Rs 50,000 the previous year.

Sinha was asked whether the issue had dented the image of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I am not going to those details. An episode takes place. Your reaction to that determines whether you are still occupying a high moral ground or you have quit that high moral ground. From the way we have responded the party and the government, it appears the high moral ground has been lost," Sinha said.

He said the matter must be investigated. "We have lots of agencies which can do it."

Asked about the defamation case filed against the website while reported the story, Sinha said: "Media is a very important integral part of democracy and that is why it is regarded as the fourth pillar. To try and supress the voice of media either directly or through any other means including for instance this defamation case of Rs 100 crore was also avoidable."

Sinha created a furore after attacking the government's management of economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified later that the economy was on sound track.